A pair of Airbus A320neo aircraft formerly owned by ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit are set for teardown.
Irish aviation asset management and trading firm EirTrade said Monday that it acquired the two aircraft in partnership with Chicago-based aviation and rail lessor RESIDCO.
The jets, at four and three and a half years old, are the youngest A320neo airframes ever to be scrapped for parts, according to EirTrade officials.
Disassembly will take place in Goodyear, Arizona, and all parts will go to the company’s hub in Dallas to support aircraft-on-ground requests from across North and South America.
“We are focused on newer vintage aircraft to ensure that our inventory contains the highest quality rotables which ensure that our customers can be supported with the latest modification standard components,” Bill Thompson, vice president of origination and trading for the Americas at EirTrade, said in a news release. “We have also acquired four sets of in-demand LRU and BFE components from the PW1100 engine type within this significant transaction.”
EirTrade estimated that there are over 4,400 A320neos in commercial service and another 7,200 on order, creating substantial demand for parts. And this figures excludes an in-service fleet of about 6,500 A320ceos, which use many of the same components.
“Given the size of the fleet and Airbus orderbook, this platform will remain the largest segment of the global commercial fleet with demand for USM increasing accordingly,” Thompson added.
EirTrade said that all parts from the aircraft will be repaired and made available for the market by the end of the first quarter.
Spirit has been selling off aircraft as it works to shrink its fleet and reduce costs. The carrier has been under bankruptcy protection since August 2025.
